Special effects might look like magic to the audience, but there's always someone behind a curtain pulling the strings Someone is targeting the best actresses in London, and the only way to keep Verna Tillet safe is to keep her off the stage until Andrew Tillet, Sara Wiggins, and Inspector Peter Wyatt can find out who the deadly killer is. But Andrew's mother isn't going to like being kept in the dark, and with a mysterious criminal mastermind set to take over London's sordid underworld, Wyatt has his hands full already. For extra help, the intrepid sleuths turn to their friend Baron Beasley, a gentle giant of a man whose job as an antiquities dealer provides plenty of opportunities to meet people from every level of London society—including a colorful reformed safecracker. They'll all have to work together to solve the case before time runs out . . . and the killer turns his attention to Verna.